July 21, 2017

Lysimachia nummularia “Aurea” Creeping Jenny

Creeping Jenny Flynn-Burhoe meta4site.com ParkdalePerennialsYYC

The City of Calgary recommends Lysimachia nummularia “Aurea” Creeping Jenny as one of its Yardsmart perennials. “This is an excellent spreading groundcover for shady spots and trails nicely over rocks or walls with yellow flowers in midsummer. It does best in partial shade but will tolerate sun and shade as well. It is good for moist locations and a good plant to take advantage of rainwater runoff. It does spread but can be easily picked back by pulling stems out. Helps attract bees to the yard.

Creeping Jenny

Creeping Jenny Flynn-Burhoe meta4site.com ParkdalePerennialsYYC

References

The City of Calgary recommends Lysimachia nummularia “Aurea” Creeping Jenny as one of its Yardsmart perennials.

July 19, 2017

Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’

By July this stonecrop is flowering in Calgary. It is a robust low matting naturalizer and ground cover in Calgary. It prefers full sun and can survive poor soil and hot sun. It can be identified when it is not flowering by its rounded green leaves. It is great for edging garden beds as it will survive light foot traffic and can be cut back easily even with a lawn mower. It can be easily shared by planting pieces even without roots in April or May.

July 17, 2017

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift Pink

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift Pink June 18, 2017

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift Pink June 18, 2017

Dianthus ‘Tiny Rubies’

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift Pink

Armeria maritima Sea Thrift Pink

In Parkdale, Calgary the Sea Thrift is a drought-tolerant, showy, reliable, trouble-free, small, mounding ground cover and naturalizing perennial. It can grow in full sunlight and survives dry conditions even in shallow rocky soil. It can be easily divided and if left can begin to rot in the centre, particularly if it is over-watered. Mine has pink blossoms starting in June and lasting through July. The attractive mounds reach over a foot in diameter appear to almost evergreen with fresh green growth showing through the snow. Although it is listed as zone 4 to 8, mine thrives in Calgary’s zone 3.

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden “Genus name is Latinized from the old French name armoires for a cluster-headed dianthus. Specific epithet means pertaining to the sea or coastal.”

Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum cv. ‘Weihenstephaner Gold’

I purchased this plant at greengate Garden Centre in Calgary in the fall of 2011 along with a number of perennials that were on sale in late September. This garden bed called September surprise has been consistently productive in every season.

“‘Weihenstephaner Gold’ Sedum is among the most popular groundcover sedums with its covering of tiny canary yellow star-shaped flower clusters in late spring. ‘Weihenstephaner Gold’ is a low-growing stonecrop that spreads by trailing stems to form an attractive ground cover. Flowers appear on reddish stems rising above the thick, triangular, succulent green leaves sharply toothed near the ends. The leaves turn purple in fall and into winter. The clusters of star-shaped, yellow-tinted, bronze-orange flowers are very attractive to butterflies and bees. An excellent selection for difficult sites such as banks and rocky areas.”

They also recommend that “Stonecrop be planted in “average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Needs good soil drainage to perform well. Avoid over-watering. Drought tolerant. Tip cuttings from plants may be rooted directly in soil around the plants.”

June 4, 2017

Iberis sempervirens Evergreen Candytuft

The Iberis sempervirensEvergreen Candytuft was in bloom on June 5, 2017. It was a gift from our lovely next door neighbour Dale many years ago and only recently did a friend, Brianne W., tell me its name. I had called it my mystery white spring flower for years.

This naturalizer makes an excellent ground cover and is almost evergreen in our Zone 3ish Calgary climate. It is among the first to blossom starting in early May. I have since divided it and transplanted it in my home garden and in the Parkdale Community Garden. It has a sticky surface that attaches to garden gloves pulling up a small piece for automatic transplanting. Its blossoms sway at the top of the long thin stem. My mounds are usually not wider than 30 cm. It was one of the plants in my lane way garden that Brookfield Residential helped transplant in September 2015. We have kept dividing it at the Community Garden around the edges of perennial beds and food forest guilds as a defense against invasive plants and grasses.

March 10, 2015

Dianthus Tiny Rubies 17 April 2014

Dianthus ‘Tiny Rubies’ 11 April ’14

Dianthus ‘Tiny Rubies’ has spread so much under the Romeo Cherry tree since last year. What an amazing, healthy ground cover. Like so many of these hardy and/or native perennials, it remained green under the snow. I was out today pulling the highly invasive Chickweed Stellaria media, which has been spreading and growing for weeks. Today I spread oat seeds in weed-prone areas and in raised beds as a green fertilizer to be tilled under in a few months.